


Let Her Be Okay

by Starshipranger258



Category: Family Ties - Fandom, Family Ties show
Genre: Car Accident, Family, Other, car crash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-01
Updated: 2020-05-01
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:40:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,831
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23950012
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starshipranger258/pseuds/Starshipranger258
Summary: How will the Keaton family react to Jennifer’s car crash? And will she be okay?
Relationships: Elyse Keaton/Steven Keaton, Mallory/Nick
Comments: 1
Kudos: 4





	Let Her Be Okay

Alex walked into his small apartment in New York City from work. He shook off his blazer, humming Mister Sandman under his breath. He walked to the fridge to grab his leftover Chinese food and heard his phone ring. He walked to the living room, sitting on the reclining chair and taking the phone off of its stand.

"Alex P Keaton how may I be of service?" He asked professionally, but his face fell when he heard panicked voices from the other end of the line.

"Alex Jennifer got into a car crash! You need to come home right now," Mallory said in a rush. Alex fell into shock.

"W-what! Is she okay?" 

"We don't know we just got a call from the hospital. Hurry!" She yelled before hanging up. Alex, trying to stay calm, started packing a bag. Nothing matched, and the ratio of shirts to pants was completely unmatched, but it didn't matter. His little sister was in a car crash. He couldn't help but think of the time his dad had had a heart attack. He shook the thoughts out of his mind. His dad was okay, so Jennifer would be okay too. He ran outside and hailed a cab, rushing in and slamming the door, they drove to the airport and he ran to the front desk. The next flight was in an hour, so he would have to wait. He paced up and down the airport, until he saw a phone. He grabbed some loose change from his pocket and popped it into the machine. He dialed the hospital and asked to be connected to his family. 

"Hello?" Elyse asked in a way that broke Alex's heart. She sounded so empty.

"Mom," he said, and heard her let out a sob.

"Alex they won't let us in to see her. They won't let me see my daughter," she said. Alex made a scalding noise to try to help her.

"I'm gonna leave New York in less then an hour mommy. I'll be home soon I promise. I'd dad there?" 

"Yeah here he is," she said. Steven stepped in and hugged his wife, as she tucked her head into his chest.

"Alex?" Steven said. Alex greeted him.

"I'd there any news? Do you know what happened?" Alex asked. He was always one who liked to know the facts, but this was one he wouldn't mind being kept in the dark for.

"Only where it happened. They haven't given us any information," he said. Alex heard a small voice on the other side of the phone. "One moment. Andy wants to talk to you." 

"Hey Alex," Andy said sadly. A few tears escaped Alex's eyes. 

"Hi buddy. How are you doing?" He asked in a quieter voice.

"I'm okay I guess. I wanna see jenn," he said. Alex silently agreed.

"It's all going to be okay Andy. I'm on my way home," he said. Soon, he hung up with his family and called Skippy. Skippy answered in an upbeat tone, not knowing what was happening.

"Hello?" He said through the phone. Alex filled him in and told him to watch the house while they were away. Skippy agreed and gave his best wishes. 

'Well I'm out of people to call,' Alex thought to himself. He continued to pace for the remainder of the time before boarding. Alex was never very religious. But he did believe in god, and now, he felt himself turning to praying. 

"Please God let her be okay." 

"Boarding flight 145," a voice said loudly. Alex jumped up and made his way to the flight.  
_________  
I'm here," Alex said as he walked into the hospital. His family jumped up from the waiting room and ran to hug him. They sat down and made attempts at small talk. Mallory and Nick sat holding each other's hands, Andy was placed on Steven's lap, and Alex was laying with his mom, his arm around her. 

"Keatons?" A doctor asked. They all stood up at rapid speeds, worry evident in their postures and movements. "Jennifer is out of surgery. She has multiple bruised and cracked ribs, which will heal over time. We are more worried about head trauma."

"Head trauma?" Alex asked, taking his mom's hand in his. The doctor nodded sympathetically. 

"In the crash, her head suffered a far more severe concussion then could happen anywhere else. Shes asleep right now, and there's no telling when she may wake up, and when she does... you need to be prepared for possible memory loss or brain damage," he said. Mallory sobbed intensely into Nick's shoulder as he tried to comfort her. Failing miserably, he picked her up bridal style and walked her over to a couch, setting her on his lap and tucking her head into his chest, soothing her and whispering sweet words. Alex led his mom to the couch and started wiping the tears from her face, even though he knew new ones would keep returning. 

"I'm so scared," she said, Alex nodded and hugged her tightly, kissing her hair.

"I am too mom. Jennifer is tough. She'll pull through," he said, but he was starting to wonder if he believed it himself. 

Time passed slowly in the hospital. Not being allowed to see their daughter/sister, the family was slowly getting more and more worried. They took turns trying to distract Andy from the news that his sister could be in worse shape then he believed, but Alex had been Andy's mentor. He knew what was happening. It was times like these that Alex wished he hadn't taught Andy so much. When Nick went to the restroom and left Mallory alone on the couch, wrapped in a blanket, Alex walked over to his sister. He hugged her tightly and kissed her forehead.

"I've got you Mallory. It's okay," he said. She continued to cry as he comforted her. 

"Alex what if something goes wrong. She's my little sister. I can't loose her," she said before bursting into hysterics. Alex held her tighter, tears escaping his own eyes at a much faster rate then earlier. He was starting to lose his resolve to stay strong for the family. Who was he kidding? He just wanted to run into his sister's hospital room and hold onto her and never let go. Alex took his sister's face in his hands.

"Our little sister is stronger then any of us give her credit for. She won't leave us. We have to believe that she is going to be okay," he said. Mallory sniffled and Alex grabbed something tissues from the nearby stand. He handed them to her and she thanked him. Soon, Nick returned and took Alex's seat. Alex couldn't remember why they had always given Nick so much grief. He treated Mallory the way all girls wanted to be treated, and he was always kind to their family. He made a mental note to be kinder to Nick. 

"Elyse?" Steven asked his wife. She nodded, to let him know that she was listening. "I just want our little girl to be alright." 

"Me too Steven. Me too," she said. They continued to wait and wait for news they didn't know if they would want to hear.  
_________  
One by one, each Keaton fell into a light sleep. Eventually, the sun rose. Elyse grabbed coffees for the group and they sat down and waited. Some tried to read magazines, but couldn't concentrate. 

After three days of constantly only leaving to get food, clothes, and shower, there was finally a development. Doctors and nurses alike started to inform the Keatons of movement. They were finally allowed in her room. They walked in and all immediately started tearing up. Upbeat, brilliant, talented, independent Jennifer now asleep in a bed. She had stitches in her forehead and bandages stuck to her face. Bruises and scratches lined the areas of skin they could see. Steven broke down at the sight of his daughter and had to leave the room to calm down and take a second. Nick took her hand in his and kissed it, before excusing himself so the family could have some alone time. Mallory pulled a stool up and sat down on it, combing Jennifer's hair back with her fingers. 

"I did her hair that day. She couldn't figure out how to get the back of her hair so I did it," Mallory said. Alex walked behind her and started massaging her shoulders. Andy ran up to the bed and sat down on the side. Elyse pulled him off, telling them that he didn't want to hurt her. He agreed and instead, settled for kissing her forehead, just like she would do for him, and walking to stand behind his mom. Steven walked back in, face paled. He kneeled beside his daughter's bed and took her hand in both of his, kissing it and whispering something inaudible to the others. 

"Come on Jenn wake up. We're all so worried," Alex started. The others caught on and started talking to her. Nothing happened. After hours of sitting in the room silently, they were told that they were going to have to leave the room. They started to vacate, but Alex ran back and kneeled beside her bed. He kissed her hand quickly, and then left.   
_______  
The next day, the same thing occurred. The. The next, and the next. Eventually, it became tedious, and the doctors began to wonder if they were mistaken about any movement they had seen. When it was only Alex in the room, he sat on the side of her bed and took her hand. 

"Come on Jenny come on. I'm so worried about you. Please wake up. I miss you. I miss playing chess and baseball and all of those times we fought about politics. I won't be able to handle it if you don't wake up. I need you here Jenn," he whispered to her, moving the hair that had fallen onto her face. "I miss my little sister." 

Suddenly, Alex felt something move in his hand. He looked down to see Jennifer's fingers squeezing his. Alex smiled. 

"There you go Jenn," he said before yelling. "Doc come quick!" The doctor and nurse rushed in and started writing stuff, connecting wires, clicking buttons, and more. Alex was rushed out of the room and saw his family. "She was moving!" 

"Really?" Andy asked. Alex nodded and everyone began to cry happy tears. Hours later, the doctor informed them that she was awake, and was only experiencing slight confusion. She didn't remember much of the day of the crash, but she seemed to remember almost all of her personal information. They walked into the room and slightly celebrated when they saw her sitting up straight. She still had a feeding tube and oxygen connected to her, but she still looked as lively as ever. Alex was the first to speak. 

"You did it Jenn. You pulled through."


End file.
